Major League Baseball reacted quickly on Wednesday afternoon, suspending Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Edwin Uceta three games and manager Kevin Cash one game for Uceta's intentional plunking of Nick Castellanos in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s Phillies win.
The benches cleared and Uceta was subsequently ejected after hitting Castellanos on the left hip with a 96 mph sinker. The Phillies had just rocked him, doubling his ERA from 0.75 to 1.49 on a two-run double from Cal Stevenson, RBI single from Buddy Kennedy, two-run homer from Trea Turner and double by Bryce Harper.
A frustrated Uceta hit Castellanos with the first pitch and Castellanos, anticipating the situation as he dug into the batter's box, let him know he felt. So did Harper, who approached the mound from second base.
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After the game, Cash admitted to reporters that Uceta lost his composure. Cash also personally apologized to Castellanos just before Phillies batting practice on Wednesday afternoon. There's no reason to believe anyone other than Uceta decided to hit Castellanos in that moment.
"We all kinda got a sense of what it was, that he was just pissed off that he got hit around and his ERA shot through the roof," Castellanos said Tuesday night. "I think Bryce kinda felt the same thing that I did. That wasn't even close.
"I got into the box and I wasn't even swinging because I thought there was a chance that could happen. I think that he was just pissed off that his numbers got messed up.
"I just told him that was bull****. You're throwing a baseball over 90 mph and you're frustrated and you're gonna throw at somebody? That's like my two-year-old throwing a fit because I take away his dessert before he's finished."